Marry Me
by Percyjacksonfan3
Summary: Juliette just wants to marry Warner, is that too much to ask?
1. Chapter 1

"Will you marry me?"

Looking back on it, I really could have planned the moment out better. Asking your boyfriend of a handful of weeks to marry you on the day his father was killed, when you're seventeen and he's nineteen... I realized it was more of a spur of the moment question that anything.

But once the words were out of my mouth I didn't want to take them back.

Aaron looks at me like I've just announced I want to run naked through the remnants of Sector 45.

My face flushes and I open my mouth to say something but my words have deserted me.

I sit down on our bed and hide my face in my hands.

oooOOOooo

The day had started out promising.

By promising of course I meant it had started out completely terrifying. We'd been planning to take over Sector 45 and to do that we had to kill Anderson. Supreme Commander of the North American Sector of the Reestablishment. Overall tyrant. My boyfriend's father.

I know it sounds bad. Really bad. But if you've read the rest of my story... you'll understand. At least, I hope you will.

Anyway. Back to this morning.

Using our 'gifts' we were able to overpower Anderson and his army. Before the morning was out we had won and Aaron and I had found one another after the battle on the rooftop of Sector 45's Base Headquarters. Our home for the past few months.

"You know the whole world will be coming for us now." He whispers in my ear once we'd realized fully what had happened.

We'd won.

Both of us were alive.

Together.

I lean back and look him in the eye. "I can't wait to watch them try."

He just smiles, takes my hand and raises my knuckles to his lips.

oooOOOooo

Adam and James are playing a game of cards when Warner and I finally make it down to the Base's basement, where my friends had been staying for the past few weeks.

"So," I clear my throat when all of them turn to me. Kenjii is practically laying across Sonya and Sara's laps in an effort to heal faster and he looks over at me and wags his eyebrows, to which I roll my eyes. You'd think nearly dying might take away some of his energy, even for a couple of hours.

Nope. Not with Kenji.

Castle has broken off quietly talking to Brendan and Winston. Alia is sitting near them, sketching in her book and Lilly is with Ian beside her.

I am so full of love for these people.

"We won." I say, and I feel Warner laughing behind me. I elbow him.

"Hell yeah we did." Kenjii says, and his smile is contagious. Everyone is looking around the room and smiling at one another and for a second I let myself relax. "Now what, J?"

"Now," I take a deep breath and squeeze Warner's hand. "We get ready to fight the rest of the world. Because they'll be coming."

Kenjii's smile wavers before returning full force. "Piece of cake." He proclaims. "And after we win?"

"Are you planning on rebuilding the Council of Supreme Commanders, Juliette?" Castle asks me seriously. "And putting yourself in charge of them? What is your goal here?"

I swallow, shaking my head at Castle's questions. "Right now we need to overthrow the Reestablishment." I tell them. "And after that, I want to make each continent responsible for itself once again. Six or seven people shouldn't be allowed to rule the world. After we win, every country will be independent once more."

Adam catches my eye. "And you plan on running this one."

I nod. "If it's what people want. If they accept me."

"And if they don't?" His eyes are piercing. "If they won't accept you?"

"Then I'll let them choose somebody else," I say. "Somebody capable. And fair."

Adam nods and looks down at James, who's glancing between everybody in the room, trying to keep track of the conversation. "As long as it's someone who knows what they're doing." He says, and the unspoken words of, 'unlike last time,' remain unaddressed.

"It will be." I reassure him. "I don't think the people will be likely to elect another tyrant, do you?"

His mouth thins. "I've learned not to put too much faith in the general wisdom of our population."

"We'll figure it out." I say, and now I'm looking around at the rest of the room. "The thing to remember is that all of us made it through today. We're safe, and we're together."

Alia smiles at me and I smile back at her. Lily rolls her eyes but grins when my eyes land on her as Ian just rolls his eyes.

"Now that my father is no longer around to find and throw you out," Warner steps up beside me. "You are all welcome to use rooms upstairs. With personal bathrooms and showers." He clears his throat. "And beds with mattresses."

James shoots to his feet. "Yes!" He looks down at Adam. "I told you he would let us!"

Adam shoots Warner a pained look.

Warner hides his smile almost as fast as it comes. "I'll leave you all to sort out the arrangements, but there's more than enough rooms for you each to have your own." He glances at Lily and Ian, at Brendan and Winston, and then between Alia and Adam. "Or enough bed space to share, if you wish."

Many faces turn red at the implication behind his words and now it's my turn to hide my laughter.

"Come on, Adam!" James is already pulling on his brother's hand. "We have to get the best one!" Nobody else is moving, but James seems to think it's a mad race for the most wanted room- despite the fact that I'm sure most are exactly the same. "Hurry, or Kenjii will take it."

"Yeah kid," Kenjii hasn't moved an inch from his spot on the twin's laps and doesn't look like he will anytime soon. "Better hurry. I'm gonna get there before you."

Adam shoots him a look but gets up, probably to prevent James from pulling his arm out of it's socket. "Alright, okay." He's laughing though, at the eager look on his brother's face. "Come on then."

They make their way towards the elevator and before I can blink everybody else is getting up to join them. Brendan and Winston are studiously avoiding each other's eyes, Lily is dragging a protesting Ian behind her, Castle is walking with Kenjii, both of them talking happily while the sisters follow.

Before I know it the elevator is going up and Warner and I are alone.

He clears his throat again. "You know, you are welcome to a room of your own as well. Of course. Since there's no risk of Father finding you now. If that's what you'd prefer." He snaps his mouth shut to stop himself from rambling further and I grin at him.

"Would you like me to move back to my old room?" I ask, teasing. "And give your bed back to you. I know how much room I take up."

"I want you to do whatever you wish." He breathes a little unevenly. "In time, I hope you might start to think of this place as..."

I lift an eyebrow when he trails off. "As what?"

"A home." He rushes on. "Of sorts, of course. It's primarily a Base, and I know it's not somewhere you would- would live and raise a family, for example, but perhaps for now? Temporarily. And if you need your own quarters to feel that way then-"

I'm laughing when I kiss him, but that doesn't stop either of us. When I pull away he smiles a bit sheepishly. "How are you always able to steal all of the words from the room?"

I shrug. "It's a gift," I say, not telling him that he seems to always do the same to me. "And don't be silly. I'll stay with you in your room, since I'd be spending all of my nights there anyway." I look up at him. "Right?"

"God yes," he crushes his mouth to mine again, and this time I feel that familiar tightening in my stomach, the fire running through my veins. He let's out a groan when I pull him closer so that our hips meet.

"You know what this means," I whisper in his ear.

"What?" The letters are a pant against my neck and I arch it to give him more access.

"You'll have to share your closet space," I murmur and he laughs.

"I think I can make the sacrifice," he replies, and then my lips are too busy to form a reply.

oooOOOooo

Warner and I are out talking to the civilians before the others are finished picking out their rooms. We'd grabbed a quick lunch- sandwiches and soup- and then I'd told him I was planning on trying to help rebuild any homes that may have been destroyed this morning.

Aaron had looked at me and nodded.

The two of us had gotten separated almost instantly but I didn't mind. I could see his head a short distance away from where I was helping move the ruins with my powers and I knew he could feel me, if he tried.

I'm using my gift to lift the metal sidings that used to be these homes' walls.

I want real houses again, I think to myself as I move the materials where a man named Kellan is directing me to. Not these shipping containers made into spaces that are semi-livable. Houses with walls and roofs and windows.

And grass, I look at the dirt beneath these people's feet and feel a tightening in my stomach. I can barely remember grass like it it in books, lush and green and all you can see for miles. Our grass is brown and dying wheree there is any. Our trees are old and withering, none taller than the Base.

There used to be tree 80 feet tall, I think. And green fields. Crops lush with life and colour, animals living everywhere. Bugs flying, birds in the sky, fish in the oceans...

I drop another pile of rubble to be sorted. I can't fix the damage done by us to the Earth, but I think, if we win this war and come out on top, we can certainly try to rectify it at least a little.

"Excuse me?" A voice behind me makes me turn and find myself staring at a blonde woman. She's wearing an old brown shawl of some kind and her skin is dirty and pale, with her long hair hanging in a braid over one shoulder. She has brown eyes and blonde hair and a sharp, angular face. "Are you Juliette Ferrars?"

I nod at her. "I- yes, I am."

She doesn't look dangerous, just tired, but I tense just in case. I have learned not to trust appearances.

The woman's eyes fill with tears. "Oh, thank you!" She says, moving towards me to clutch my hands, so fast I barely have time to shut off the power thrumming through my veins so I don't hurt her. "My little brother Ajay, he was sick and starving, we were both starving, since the Supreme Commander killed our parents. My fiancee Jake's been doing the best he can, he was a doctor before you see, but now they're saying Ajay will be able to get the medicine he needs, that there's plenty in the Commander's private stores and they're releasing it to the public. They say you said to."

I'm completely caught off guard at her words and look around to find people watching us. Flushing I turn back to her. "Of course, it wasn't a problem, there's plenty to go around-"

"Thank you." She repeats fervently, eyes serious. "My brother was dying. We haven't been able to afford medicine in months. The only reason he's still alive is because of Jake."

"You should have been able to get it long before now," I say to her. "And I'm sorry you didn't." I pause. "Your fiancee is a doctor, you say?"

She nods.

"A good one?"

"He'd only just graduated medical school before the Country Reform," she tells me. "But he was good enough to keep my brother alive when everybody else we spoke to gave up."

"Will you tell him to get in touch with me eventually?" I ask her. "I would like to set up a hospital and I've been needing doctors to work there."

"Oh!" Her hands fly to cover her mouth, eyes shining once more. "Of course, thank you so much! He's busy helping with people's injuries from today but I'm sure he would love to."

I nod at her. "Thank you."

"No, no." She's shaking her head. "I came here to thank you. You'll never know, I'm sure, what you saved us from. Living like slaves, poor districts and crime because everybody was so miserable. You're fixing it all."

I take a breath and force a smile. "I'm doing the best I can."

She nods. "I need to get back to Ajay, but I saw you and I just had to let you know."

"Before you go," I stop her. "May I ask your name?"

"Oh!" She exclaims. "Of course, how silly of me! I'm Maria. Maria Toohey."

I nod at her. "I hope your brother gets better."

She smiles at me. "Thank you very much."

And as she turns to go I see the people watching us, waiting to see what I'll do next.

I nod at them and get back to work.

oooOOOooo

Eventually I end up working alongside a woman named Kaya. She's tan, very tan, and gorgeous. Her hair is dark and cut close to her head, her laugh rich and her eyes dark and warm.

We are helping sort of medical supplies. Grouping different things together to hand out to families who need it.

She's telling me about her partner Emma.

"We'd never talked about marriage or anything like that before," Kaya tells me. "I mean we've only been dating for what? Six months I think. Anyway, but she went out to fight today with your lot, and I was left behind to help the wounded because I'd been learning a few things from our neighbour, a nurse, and I realized while she was gone, that I didn't know what I'd do if she didn't come back. Because she'd become such a huge part of my life, you know, and I couldn't imagine living without her now that I'd known what it was like to have her."

I think of Warner and the desperation I'd felt when I hadn't seen him at the end of the battle. The way his arms wrapped around me and his lips brushed my temple. The warmth I felt around him.

"I know what you mean," I murmur.

She nods. "And I was thinking, you know, that there's not a chance anybody else was who I wanted. So why were we waiting? Why wait a year or two to propose and be together in the eye of the law and all that? Because we weren't sure? I am sure. Because people would judge? Let them. In 20 years when we're still together they'll have forgotten all about it. What was the hold up? She loved me, I love her. Why were we waiting?"

I stop my movements and look at her in surprise. "But you're so young."

She must only be 19, I think looking at her. 19 and head over heels in love.

Warner's 19, I think, and then flush.

She shrugs. "Maybe. But I know what I want. I know who I want. And it's Emma."

I nod and start reading pill bottle labels again. "So you want to ask her to marry you?"

I look up when she doesn't answer to see the widest smile on her face. "No need." She tells me. "She's already asked."

I frown. "I'm confused."

"After it was announced that you defeated the Supreme Commander she found me." Kaya's eyes were distant, remembering to a few hours ago. "She ran right at me, ignoring everybody else, and kissed me in full view. We were surrounded by people working, people hurting, and maybe it was selfish of me to kiss her back when I could have been helping, but I needed it, needed her, you know? I'd had no idea she was alive and suddenly she was there in front of me... there wasn't a chance in Hell I'd push her away."

She clears her throat and looks back down at the medicine. "Anyway. Almost as soon as she pulled away she was holding my face, you know, the same as I was, because she was there and I needed to make sure." She shakes her head. "It sounds stupid, I know-"

"No," I'm looking down purposefully, certain I know exactly what she means. "Not at all."

"Right." She continues after a moment. "Well anyway. She asked me right there and then. She told me she wanted to marry me and would I become her wife?" Kaya laughed quietly. "I said yes."

I smile at her, genuinely touched by the story, though I can't help but picture it as me and Warner. "That's beautiful," I tell her. "I'm very happy for you."

She grins widely. "I know couples like us used to be- that before we weren't allowed to be together." She tells me, "under The Reestablishment's reign. But I was hoping maybe now- maybe it will be different." She looks at me hopefully. "That even if we have to wait for the laws to be changed, for us to- to be together legally, before everybody, I don't care. I was just hoping it might be possible for Emma and I now."

She's biting her lip, looking at me warily, and it takes me a second to realize what she's saying.

 _Oh_.

Oh.

I'm the one with the power to change those laws. I'm the person who needs to say yes, yes, good.

I now have the power to make hundreds if not thousands of people happy. To bring unspeakable joy to their lives.

"Of course." I tell her, moving forward to clasp her hand in mind. "God, yes, of course. You can marry Emma as soon as you like, I'm sure both of you deserve to be happy." I squeeze her hand as tears fill her eyes before she blinks. "I would never- of course you can be together. Love is love, after all."

"Thank you." She whispers before pulling her hand away and wiping at her eyes and turning back to work. I return to mine as well. "So much."

I shift. It appears I will have to get used to people thanking me. "Don't mention it. You should have been allowed to long ago. There's nothing wrong with loving who you want."

She nods but I notice her hand is trembling. "Emma will be so happy."

I smile at her. "Good. And if you need somewhere spacious- well it's not exactly the most romantic of places, but if we decorate it a little, the Base I'm sure is the biggest avenue we could get you."

"Oh!" She looks up. "Oh no, thanks. I'd like it to be very small. Private. If that's okay."

I smile again, softer now. "Not a problem." I tell her. "It's your wedding."

We go back to sorting the bottles, now with her chattering on about how happy her family will be, how Emma will want to meet me, and I listen, but halfheartedly now. Her story struck something in me, and idea, one I never knew I wanted until now.

I've never thought of marriage before, not seriously. I never thought I would find someone who would ever want to be with me, never mind marry me, and then once I had there was a war to fight.

But a war shouldn't stop me from being happy, from being with the person I want.

And, like Kaya, I know exactly who that person is.

oooOOOooo

I ask him that night.

Everyone had retired to their rooms- only Lily and Ian had shared, but I caught Winston's eye after he'd exchanged a look with Brendan, and Adam had been watching Alia all evening, so it was really only a matter of time- and Aaron and I were getting ready for bed when it started.

"Do you think we can do it?" I ask him, slipping on a nightgown he'd bought for me before I'd ever stepped foot in Sector 45. Both of us were just getting out of the bath to ease our aching muscles- we'd each worked at least 8 hours today. "Beat them all?"

"Do you?" He returned, coming up behind me and placing his hands on my hips.

I leaned back against him. "I think so. With all of us together- if we look for other people with Gift's and ask them to help... I think we could."

He kisses my neck. "I agree."

Turning I put my arms around his neck. "Really?"

"I've never doubted it," he says quietly, eyes burning into mine. "Since you first came up with your plan. You are so much stronger than you believe, love, and I think you could take over the world if you wanted to." He cocks his head. "It's the fact that you're not even tempted, that fills me with disbelief. Anybody else would be."

I bite my lip. "I don't want to rule the world." I say, my palm on his cheek. "It would never give me time for anything else."

 _Time for you_ , I want to say, but the words stay trapped on my tongue.

He smiles and turns to kiss my wrist. "And that's what makes you so amazing."

Words are lodged in my throat and my stomach is a mess of nerves. "Will you stay with me?" I ask him. "Through it all? No matter what happens?"

Kaya's story is once again going through my mind, and while this isn't exactly the question I'd been wanting to ask, it was close enough for the moment.

It might be selfish of me , but I need to know that Aaron will be by my side. That I won't be alone and at night I'll have him to confide in. I don't think I could do this without him.

"Of course." He answers me. "Juliette I will always be here, whenever you want me."

"I will always want you," I reply, and I mean the words. I mean them with my entire being. "Forever."

His arms move to pull me to his chest and tighten around me. "Then I'll be here." He answers. "With you. Forever."

The words slip out now without me thinking about it. "Will you marry me?"

Looking back on it, I really could have planned the moment out better. Asking your boyfriend of a handful of weeks to marry you on the day his father was killed, when you're seventeen and he's nineteen... I realized it was more of a spur of the moment question that anything.

But once the words were out of my mouth I didn't want to take them back.

Aaron pulls away and looks at me like I've just announced I want to run naked through the remnants of Sector 45.

I am so embarrassed as I meet his eyes, my throat gone dry and stomach tense from nerves.

"No."

My face flushes and I open my mouth to say something but my words have deserted me.

I sit down on our bed and hide my face in my hands.

"Juliette-"

"It's alright." My words are muffled against my hands but I don't move them, even when he sits beside me. "I don't know why- it just slipped out-"

"Love," his hands close around my wrists gently. "Look at me."

"That's okay." I say, still speaking to my hands. "I think I might just stay like this forever."

My face is hot, too hot. It feels like it's on fire.

"Sweetheart," he says, and I shiver at the word from his mouth. "Please. Look at me."

I slowly pull my hands away and meet his eyes.

He looks like he's in pain and it makes me want to hide all over again.

"Don't say anything." I tell him. "Please. I just- we're going to be together anyway. I guess I just wanted you to know that- it's how I feel right now and-"

"Juliette." His voice is soft. "I can't marry you. Not now."

And even though I hadn't wanted to hear an answer, even though I wasn't fully sure if I was prepared for one even if it had been yes, it hurts anyway.

"Right." I look down at my hands. Examining the lines and the nails and oh, look, my love line. "I understand. It was stupid- I don't even know why I said it."

"No," Warner rakes his hands through his hair. "No, you're misunderstanding." He looks disheveled. "Juliette, every bit of my being wants to say yes to you right now."

I meet his eyes. "Then why-?"

He laughs. "We fought a battle today, love. None of us really thought we'd win. You're _seventeen years old_ , Juliette. And yes, I love you. I'm in love with you, and I have been for so long now, and no part of me can imagine not being in love with you, not in five years or eighty, but I won't let you do this to yourself."

"Aaron," I am so confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't feel that way." He tells me. "And I don't expect you to. Just because we won today... it doesn't mean we have to change anything. We're still us, the same us we were yesterday, and our relationship doesn't have to change just because we both survived. You want to do something because we won." His eyes are boring into me, and the strangest look is on his face. "You want something- something permanent, or to celebrate, but this isn't it. Because if you asked me, and I said yes, but then years later you decided it wasn't what you wanted..." He takes in a deep breath and stops talking.

I want to tell him about Kaya and her story, the way I felt at hearing it, but instead what comes out of my mouth is, "you think I'm not sure?"

"How can you be?" He asked. "There are hundreds of men out there that you haven't even seen. You've spent your life locked away, the only men in your life are the ones under this roof right now. How can you know who you want right now?"

I flinch, because his words hit close to home. "I want you." I say anyway, desperate for him to understand what I'm saying. What I'm feeling.

He shakes his head, frustrated at me. "I can't marry you, Juliette. Not now, at least. Right now we're about to fight a war, and you think you're sure, but you're not."

"I know how I feel," I tell him, angry at his presumptions. "I know I love you-"

"Love fades." He says, and he's trying to smile but it looks like it's taking every force within him to do it. "I've seen it happen. And I won't be the reason you're miserable in ten years. I want anything, _anything_ , except that."

"You could never make me miserable." I say, catching on to what he's trying to say. "Aaron, you're wrong. In ten years I'll be happier than ever, as long as I'm with you."

He smiles sadly. "Nobody can know that." He says. "Juliette, you thought you would never spend a day with people when you were locked away. As soon as Adam was there you latched on to him because he was the first person to be nice to you. And now you're latching onto us, your friends and me, because you think that's all you have. But the entire world knows your name now. There are thousands of people out there who will want to meet you, and know you. I wouldn't be surprised if you could have your pick of them."

I shake my head, smiling. "You're underestimating me. And you're doubting yourself. Aaron, I grew up surrounded by people, including boys. I know what's out there, what people are like. I know who I want."

He kisses my hand. "Do you want to go out there and announce to everyone that we're engaged?"

I pause.

What would Kenjii say, I think? And Adam? Even Castle, I can imagine his raised eyebrow, skeptical at how fast things between Aaron and I were moving.

"Exactly." Warner says when I don't reply. "It's too soon Juliette. For you, for them."

"What about for you?" I ask him.

"That doesn't matter if it's too fast for you," he says, "which I know it is."

I bite my lip. "I do want to marry you." I tell him. "Not now- fine. Okay. I won't force you to say yes. But I do. And someday you'll believe me."

He just smiles, and some of the tension leaves him. "Come to bed, love. We'll talk about it again in a few years."

I grumble but don't argue.

Because I know how I feel. And even if it isn't right right now, it is right, what Aaron and I have.

I just have to prove it.


	2. Chapter 2

I brought it up for the second time during the war.

Various history books I've read and things I've heard from Warner tell me we are extremely lucky that the war takes not even 2 years to fight and win in North America.

Each day felt like a week and each week had felt like a month. The lives lost and families destroyed make them feel longer.

But we are lucky. That's what people keep telling me. We are so so lucky, because now The Reestablishment has given up it's control of North America.

(Hopefully the rest of the world will follow.)

But during the war? During the war you don't think about how lucky you are. When you spend all night huddled in an underground bunker, unable to sleep and holding hands with the person- it can be anybody, a complete stranger, as long as you know there's somebody else breathing down there with you- beside you praying the bombs will miss and that you won't be buried underneath here alive. That the wailing children in their mother's arms nearby will be able to make it to their next birthday.

During the war you think about the people you love. About what you're fighting for. What you're willing to die for.

For me the list is very short.

12 names.

Aaron Kenji James Adam Castle Alia Sara Sonya Winston Brendan Lily Ian.

(But if it really comes down to it, I think only 3 names on that list really matter to me. 3 names I would give absolutely anything to keep safe.)

And at the bottom of my list there is another thing.

1 idea.

Freedom.

I refuse to be a prisoner again. To relinquish my right to go out and feel the sun on my face, breathe the air from outside in my lungs and feel the grass (what's left of it) beneath my feet.

I am a human being. I deserve to be able to live.

This is what I fight for. For my future, for my loved ones. For an idea, hidden away, deep in my heart of hearts. A secret desire to one day slip a ring on Aaron's finger, one that means almost as much as the gift from his mother.

These are the things a person realizes during a war.

oooOOOooo

It's funny, I think, how things can go from in control to absolute chaos in the span of 10 seconds.

It starts like this.

With me, standing in the makeshift strategy tent with Castle, Ian, Lily, Brendan, Winston and Adam. We're looking at a roughly drawn map, trying to find where our soldiers from Team 6 are fighting, whether they need backup and where other Teams are marching back to base with a victory under their belts. We are trying to make plans and predict our enemy's next moves.

The entirety of North America is at war. Us against The Reestablishment. South America has invaded us and we are slowly pushing them back.

I have lost count of the amount of people I've seen die in the last few months. Me, who's usually so good at keeping count.

(It was all I had for so long, but the numbers are getting too large now, even for me.)

The battle against Anderson is laughable now.

We have had to hijack planes and lock people up as prisoners and hostages. Many of their soldiers have joined us after realizing what we're offering them, but some have been too afraid or too loyal to The Reestablishment, and can't be reasoned with.

I once killed a little boy in a supermarket and vowed to never kill again. Not with my touch, because more than anything I did not want to be a monster.

I've learned how to put a bullet through someone's brain; and I have broken my vow.

Their faces haunt me.

But you grit your teeth and you go forward because staying still means signing your own death sentence.

I may be a monster, but I am not ready to die yet.

Sector 45 began being bombed almost as soon as the war was declared. I have corresponded with The Reestablishment Supreme Commanders of the other continents of the world.

All were born here, in North America, and speak flawless English.

Another way of erasing our world's culture.

Aaron told me they used to be over at his house all the time, in meetings with his father. Before The Reestablishment gained support, back when total world domination was still just an idea.

He said they would sometimes stay for dinner. And that he was never ever allowed to say a word when they were in his house.

Now we are fighting against those men and their armies.

I have talked to one of them through a video call. The Supreme Commander of South America.

He is a Caucasian male with jet black hair and blue eyes. He must be older than 40 but he looks only a decade older than Warner. His name is Jacob Fields, and he was the only leader in the meetings with Anderson that ever introduced himself to Aaron.

I wonder if all of the leaders of The Reestablishment were beautiful. Anderson had been, in that cruel twist of fate, and now this man I see through a camera.

He is shockingly handsome.

The day after killing Anderson, Delalieu had come up to Warner and whispered something in his ear.

Warner paled right on the spot. And then he had looked at me and said to Delalieu, "Don't just tell me, Juliette's in charge here."

Delalieu had straightened and, commendably, with only a small tremor in his voice he had said, "Ma'am, the leader of South America desires a conference with you both."

My blood had momentarily stopped flowing through my body. "When?"

Delalieu cleared his throat awkwardly. "He is waiting to accept your Conference Call as we speak."

I turned to look at Warner "Aaron, what do we-"

He had regained his composure and his face was set as both his grandfather and I looked at him for answers. "We can't ignore him. That is something he will not forgive."

"But-"

"The most he can do over a ConCall is threaten us." Warner squared his shoulders. "It will be fine. We have a plan, remember?"

"Right," I nod and take his offered hand as we thank Delalieu and walk to the Conference Room. "Do you know anything about him?"

And now here we are. Having walked the 20 30 44 steps to the Conference Room, Warner had given me a quick, brief introduction to the man.

Now he has answered our call and sits in front of us. He is alone, and the room is completely bare except for the chair he is sitting in. White walls and white ceiling.

"Hello, Ms. Ferrars."

He had been so pleasant.

"I hear you were the one to murder Anderson in cold blood."

My grip on Warner's hand had tightened.

Our plan flees my head.

"And you, young Mr. Anderson." Mr. Field had smiled wider. "I hear you've fallen in love with her."

Warner's smile had been deadly, whether at the misuse of his last name or the hidden threat behind the last sentence. "The sectors of North America have united in opposition of The Reestablishment, Jacob. You are welcome to unite the America's by joining us."

"Ah." Jacob almost looks disappointed. "Yes, I've heard of your little... rebellion." He shakes his head. "Sad, really. Your father had such high hopes for you Aaron."

Warner almost flinches at the sound of his name. I jump in, not allowing even a second to pass after the leader of South America finishes speaking.

"Would you really prefer to go to war?" I implore him.

His triumphant grin turns from Warner to fall at the sight of me. He searches my face, seeming to memorize each pixel on the screen he sees.

"Juliette Ferrars." Unlike Aaron I am unaffected by the sound of my name falling from this strangers lips. "Anderson told us all about you, you know. The girl his son had brought in to use as a weapon and then lost so carelessly. Twice, we heard. We urged him to replace his son as head of Sector 45, to appoint somebody else. Someone with more years of experience and knowledge."

"He refused, as you can see. Said he was used to cleaning up his son's messes and that he'd make sure it wouldn't happen again." Jacob rolls his eyes as if he's talking about a nuisance of a thunderstorm that's about to roll in. "We all thought it was him being soft, that he was allowing emotion to cloud his judgement. Obviously we were correct, since, as you can see, Anderson is dead and you two have now taken it upon yourselves to replace him."

Warner's spare hand is shaking in his lap.

I am so hopelessly lost.

This is not the threats and taunting I had been prepared for. I was not ready to see Aaron look so vulnerable and broken at mere words from this man. I don't understand why he seems to simply want a conversation.

"The rest of us were curious about you, Ms. Ferrars." Jacob's voice is silky as he continues. "We read your files and heard of your beauty- but more importantly we heard about your power. And we discovered you weren't the only the one."

His eyes fill with disgust. "All across the world there are genetic freaks like you running around. We were not entirely unaware, of course, and each of us has dealt with them as we saw fit. Anderson, in his stupidity, allowed them to live on since he assumed they weren't causing any harm."

His smile is as predatory as a shark's.

"These genetic mutations are almost entirely wiped out in Europe," he continues on. "Asia has had trouble discovering where they're hiding but once they are found the plan is to bomb them immediately. I haven't heard a report of any in Australasia for months. In Antarctica I heard they were thrown into the waters and threatened to be shot if they tried to get out."

I feel like I'm going to be sick.

He tsks. "And here in South America? Well I'm not a fan of unnecessary bloodshed, or on wasting bullets. I've had them all rounded up, separated, tortured and trained until they stopped fighting and started working for me and my army."

Dread curdles in my stomach like old milk.

"You do not want to go up against me." Jacob's voice has lowered and now I understand. Here are the threats and boasts of 'look what I have, look what I can do and how easily I can crush you'. "Because I will win. I have soldiers. I have weapons, more than your ragtag band of misfits. Of this, I assure you."

"You will not beat me in this fight, children." He leans back in his chair. "I've been doing this for longer than you've been alive. I promise you, this war will destroy you."

"Here are my terms, if you wish to see your land and your people spared." Mr. Fields continues. "The two of you will surrender yourselves to myself and the other Leaders of the World. That is non negotiable. Your 'friends,'" his voice is full of disgust. "Will also surrender and join my army. I will allow them," he smiles, "to live the life they deserve."

He cocks his head and looks at the two of us, sitting frozen in our seats. "I like what you said before, Aaron, about uniting the America's. I think I will do that." He takes a deep breath and now his grin is wide and unfiltered, full of victory and the promise of more power. "I will take on Anderson's old position as well as my own, and take North America under my charge."

There is a stretch of seconds that pass in silence. I do not count them.

"Nobody else needs to get hurt here." Jacob carries on, more serious now. "You two have had your epic love story and conquered one continent. Bravo. Well done. Are you not tired of always looking over your shoulder for an enemy? Do you not want to live out the rest of your lives together in peace and drop your weapons? Let somebody else be in charge?"

I am not tempted for even a second, but the information he's given us about his army does scare me. South America is large, and I know it has the people to match ours. And if what he says is true, if he's taken every single Gift on the continent and forced them to join his army...

I look at Aaron. What chance do we have against that? We barely have 10 gifts with us, not all of them are offensive, either.

We've sent word across the continent asking for anybody with a Gift to step forward and help us, but we've left it up to them. If they would be willing to leave the people they love to make a difference with us, even if it's only to help others heal or talk battle strategy.

So far nobody has shown up. But it's only been two days.

I read Aaron's thoughts in his eyes and turn back to the camera we are talking to him through.

I smile.

"No thank you."

Fields' face goes from pleasant to bored in a second. "Very well." He sighed. "I had to at least try, you see. Otherwise they would brand me too quick to jump into the war."

"Consider our offer." Aaron interrupts him before he can continue. Jacob's face sours in an instant. "If we do not hear from you within the hour, we will assume you have declined it and are agreeing to war. A war," he smiles patronizingly, as if teaching a lesson to a child who should have learned it ages ago. "That I assure you, The Reestablishment will lose."

Jacob Fields opens his mouth to respond but before he can Aaron disconnects the call.

oooOOOooo

Now it is two months later. We have survived bombings and our soldiers are spread out across the continent, keeping the South American soldiers back. So far whatever Gift's Mr. Fields was speaking of have kept themselves hidden.

Our temporary HQ tent is just a large square with enough room for a table, the map on it, and for the rest of us to stand around it.

Castle and Adam are huddled together, both muttering and eyeing the map speculatively. Winston and Brendan are practically sleeping in each other's laps in the corner of the tent where blankets and pillows lie and I'm talking to Lily when Kenji bursts through the entrance.

"Team 2," he pants, doubled over and wheezing. One arm is around his stomach as he catches his breath. "Team 2 needs backup."

The entire room freezes.

"How many?" Castle barks, moving away from Adam to grasp Kenji by the shoulders and pull him up straight.

"Warner said 1000, maybe more." Kenji glances guiltily towards me, but I'm too busy trying to do the math in my head to respond to him.

"1000?" Adam asks incredulously. "But how could we not have seen-"

"He has at least that many with him," I say frowning. "Do they have aircraft's? Or a Gift with them?"

Warner is not easily overpowered, all of us know that. Out of our group of friends, it's Warner who's won the most battles and most helped to outsmart our enemies. Out of all of us, Warner is the most valuable player in this defense.

Facing an enemy with the same number of soldiers is something he's done before, many times. Many times he's won against an enemy with half the number of their troops.

There must be something putting the enemy at an advantage.

"He left three quarters of his troops with Team 6 when they called for assistance earlier." Kenji replies. "And they have a Gift with them. One who can shield roughly a tenth of their people at a time against gunfire."

Once the information and it's implications have sunk in I whirl on Kenji quickly.

"And you left him? You left them all?" I demanded. I could just imagine Aaron out there, trying to hold off over a thousand men with a quarter of that number. To somehow get close enough to kill them without being injured themselves."Why would you-"

"Warner said you'd never forgive him if I got hurt and he needed somebody to get you the message." Kenji snaps at me, suddenly defensive. "I didn't want to leave, he made me-"

"Guys." Adam cuts in, rational and calm while I'm panicking and about to run out there myself. "Now isn't the time."

"I'm not a coward," Kenji says to me, ignoring Adam. I do the same. "You know I wouldn't have left him if he'd given me a choice, J, you know that."

I turn away, back to the map. "You're right." I swallow. "I'm sorry. I know you would have stayed, Kenji."

And that's that. You don't have time for long discussions in the middle of battles.

"Show me exactly where they are." I say, talking to Kenji but still looking at the map.

He looks at it for a second before pointing to a spot slightly left of where Warner and his army were supposed to be. "Okay. And they're deflecting bullets? How? Do they vanish or just stop and fall?"

"It's like..." Kenji frowns. "It's like they hit a wall. They crumple at a certain distance from where their troops are standing and just hit the ground. Dented at the front. Some explode when they hit the barrier."

I feel dread curl in my stomach. "But Warner can do that too, can't he? Take the gift and use it himself?"

Again Kenji frowns. "He's trying, J, but it's like the person knows to stay just a little bit out of his reach. Sometimes Warner can do it, sometimes he can't." A half smile graces my best friend's face. "Frustrating the hell outta him."

I don't smile. Instead I feel like smacking the table until it shatters into splinters of wood. Today was supposed to be a day for scouting our area, seeing where The Reestablishment troops are hiding. There wasn't supposed to be any fighting. People weren't supposed to die today.

And now I have 2 Teams locked in combat. One of which seems to be severely unprepared. Real fear is filling me, something I thought I was done feeling.

I can't lose Warner. It would shatter me. Break me from the inside out.

"I'm going out there." I say. "Brendan, I want you to come too. Castle, go out to meet Team 6, make sure they still have the advantage. If they need assistance you know where I'll be. The rest of you..." I trail off. "Go to whichever team you want, but make sure somebody stays here. You know how to reach me." I tap the earbud in my ear, one my entire council has. With a thought I look to Kenji with a frown. "Why didn't Warner com me?" I ask. "Why send you?"

"Ah." Kenji looks contrite. "Did I forget to mention that there's more than one gift with them?"

"Kenji-"

"I was focused on the not being able to kill them part!" He defends himself without letting me finish. "Warner said he thinks there's 3. One of them doesn't seem to be useful at all, as far as I can tell. There's been nothing from him. I told you about the one who can stop bullets. And the other..."

"What Kenji?" I'm impatient to get going.

"... can cut off communications." He blurts. "Jam the frequencies, I don't know, Warner was explaining but I wasn't really listening, too busy trying to come up with a way to send someone else to come here."

I rub my forehead. "Great."

"Juliette." Adam's quieter when he steps up beside me, but his voice is firm. "I could- I might be able to help with that."

It takes me a couple of seconds, but I grin at the idea. "You think you can project that far?" I ask him.

"I could help, anyway." He says. "Make it so that at least you and Warner can be contacted."

"Yes." I nod. "Okay, Adam's with me. Everyone else, you have your orders." I look at Kenji and raise an eyebrow. "Unless you have something else to share?"

"Nope." He pops the p. "That was everything."

"Alright." I turn to look at my friends. "Ready?"

They nod.

"Let's go."

oooOOOooo

No matter how many times I have been surrounded by a battlefield I don't think it's something I could ever get used to.

Gunfire threatens to deafen us all, the confused screaming of people fighting and dying helping it along.

The smell of blood makes me want to vomit.

I had a childhood, once, where I was sure I would never have to see people die. Despite my parents keeping me a broomstick's length away from them and warning me from touching other people, my childhood was at least a childhood. I went to school, I read books. I may have been lonely and weird, but that too was within the realm of normal. Some people are lonely and weird.

Before that day in the supermarket I was like other kids. I took meals for granted and assumed that even though there were bad things in the world, even though people died, death wouldn't come near me.

I want to laugh, but I know if I did it would look like I've gone insane.

I wasn't just naive back then, but innocent.

We have managed to fight this war without really fighting it. I have made speeches and promises and people have joined us. We have used our Gifts to our full advantage and overpowered our enemies.

I have only ever killed people who have backed me into a corner. Anderson, the other leaders of Sectors we've captured, once I had to kill a spy that had been selling The Reestablishment our plans for the promise of a life of luxury once the war was over.

I have never killed enemies in battle. Never shot someone just because somebody else told them to run at me with a gun. I have never had to kill a civilian who thinks killing the Rebel Leader will mean rewards and a better life for their family.

A few of us- Aaron, Adam, Kenji, Lily and Ian- can't claim the same.

But today in this battle I'm scared that might change.

I might be practically invincible from bullets, but I can't project that power like I can with some of my others. My friends are still vulnerable, Warner is still vulnerable whenever he can't touch my skin, and I know I will kill a stranger to save them.

Right now I am just trying to find Warner. But it's chaos out here, and our troops are panicking and frantic. They are falling apart and I know that is something Warner won't let happen.

But if they're becoming disorganized, it could mean he's - that he's not here.

My mind shies away from what I almost just thought. Aaron is not dying today and he is not dying in this war.

The soldiers are starting to recognize me and my friends and they're parting around us, making a pathway. Whispers are starting to break through the screaming and gunfire, whispers of "She's here!" "They'll help us." "With their powers we'll be fine."

I want to tell them all to run.

Instead I keep my chin high and my shoulders square and keep moving as quickly as I can to where I know Warner will be.

There's men around him, and their voices are raised.

"-going to kill ourselves out here, let's just pull back-"

"Where's that Kishimoto guy, didn't he leave an hour ago?"

"If we send troops around the back-"

All of them speaking over one another until Warner's voice cuts through it all, quiet and calm.

"If you are all done achieving nothing." He says. "I suspect our backup has arrived."

The men go silent and I push my way through, the 5 friends who have followed me joining Aaron and I in the center of the ring of bodies.

Warner looks pained at the sight of me. "When I sent Kenji for backup, I said specifically that I didn't want him to bring you here."

"Ah." Kenji looks contrite and we both look at him. "Right, that was the last thing. Juliette," Kenji turns to meet my eyes. "Warner said he didn't want you to come as backup."

I look at Aaron. "I'm not going to leave." I say. "I'm going to help you."

I am so angry at him. For leaving the majority of his own soldiers with Team 6, for not sending himself as a messenger and letting me know he was fine.

But I cannot be angry at him for these things, because, as I'm learning, this is war.

"Of course you are." Warner isn't happy with it, but he knows better than to waste time and convince me otherwise.

"What's the situation?" I ask, and then we're talking battle strategy and our unsaid feelings over the subject are pushed aside.

Adam, who's been learning to project recently, tries and is able to remedy the communications. Not just of Aaron and I, but of our friends as well.

Castle checks in to let us know Alia and her team are holding their own, and can come to help us. I tell him to only come once they've dealt with everything over there.

Then we fight.

I split the enemy's group of soldiers in two. One side has the 3 Gifts, and that is the side Aaron, my friends and I will try to overcome with some of our soldiers.

It's almost easy for me to freeze the soldiers in place and ask them to surrender. The ones who don't are met with handcuffs and zip ties to be taken to base and questioned.

The 3 Gifts we tie up as well and Adam uses his powers to render their Gifts useless.

Kenji and Warner had been right. They look like they're a family of 3, one girl, one boy and an older man. The man has salt and pepper hair that's graying, dark eyes, stubble from being unable to shave, and weathered brown skin. His bones stick out almost dangerously.

His children are both skinny, with brown hair and eyes, and look tired, but the girl is vicious. She's cursing and struggling with her bonds as we lead them away, threatening and then laughing all in one breath.

The boy is quiet and walks with his head down.

I wonder which of them has the gift to stop bullets.

It takes minutes, in total, and then we're moving towards the other half of our team and seeing that most of the enemy soldiers have joined them and laid down their weapons.

The ones who didn't are lying bleeding on the ground.

After we count bodies, realize most of us are okay, we message into HQ and tell Castle backup won't be necessary anymore.

And then I turn around and hug Aaron tighter than I can ever remember.

"Don't ever scare me like that again." I say quietly into his chest.

I'm not even completely sure why I panicked so much today. I trust Warner and he's better at fighting this war than any of us. If anyone would have been able to live through that situation it would have been him. He's capable and doesn't need me to protect him.

He doesn't need me to fight his battles for him.

But I think I realized today just how much I need him. The thought of him dying... it had suddenly been a much realer possibility than ever before.

I think today I realized that Aaron's no longer a choice for me, but a necessity. Losing him would break my heart and I don't think I could bear it.

"I won't leave you, love." He whispers.

It's in the moment I step away I see the soldier from the other army standing behind Warner.

And Warner's looking at me, so softly and he doesn't see and my emotions must be overwhelming him because he can't feel the man behind him-

I scream his name.

I scream his name and grab the gun from his waist to shoot it-

Simultaneously, the gunshots pierce the air.

1

I drop the gun and lunge forward, thinking if I can touch him he can take my power and make himself invincible, please, please, Aaron, just grab my hand-

2

Warner stumbles into my touch and I feel him take my hand, feel him use it's power, but it's too much too late because I also see the blood that sprays from his back in time with his heartbeat.

3

My screams are loud.

4

He collapses into my arms and I collapse underneath him as we fall to the ground. I don't know whether to press my hands to the wound or roll him over on his stomach to get what little help I can from gravity.

5

"Aaron? Aaron!? Warner, look at me, please, you'll be fine, it'll be fine-" I'm rambling and half debating ripping off my entire supersuit to press to the wound when an unfamiliar hand interrupts my vision.

6

I grab the shirt it's holding and press it to Aaron's back and he whimpers, just slightly, but it's enough to break my heart.

7

"Been shot before," he whispers just loud enough for me to hear. "Survived."

8

I want to cry but there's nothing in my body but desperation.

9

"Get Sonya and Sara!" I'm screaming it, shouting it over and over and over again, and then I am crying, suddenly, the tears streaming from my eyes down my face and Warner's looking at me like I've shot him all over again.

10

"Don't," his voice is quieter than before. "Don't do that-"

This is my 10 seconds. The 10 seconds of my life where things can go from normal to irreparable.

My hands are pressing hard and I'm shaking my head, numb and untouchable to anybody except the boy bleeding to death. I have my arms wrapped around him, hunched over and hugging Warner to my chest as my hands press the quickly soaked shirt to the bullet wound.

"You can't leave me you can't leave me _please_ don't leave me I couldn't survive it-"

I'm repeating words over and over again and I only realize it when someone tries to take Warner from me and I scream at them to get away, don't _touch_ him-

"Juliette." It's Kenji's voice and I glance up to find him watching me with that curious look on his face, the look that makes me think maybe I have gone insane because he looks at me like he's afraid.

"Juliette." He repeats. He's calm, he's so calm, why is he so calm? Warner is hurt, he's _dying_ and Kenjii is just looking at me. "You have to let go of Warner. You're making it so that he's untouchable."

Without even blinking I shut the power thrumming through my skin off.

"The girls are on their way," Kenji is saying to me a few seconds later as I help lay Warner stomach down on the stretcher somebody's brought him. "They were with Team 6 and shouldn't be far, we'll meet them halfway-"

But I'm walking away, not even really listening. I'm holding Warner's hand while someone replaces the blood soaked shirt with a fresh one and I want to scream stop, stop, just stop everything now, please, but I don't because my lips aren't connected to my body and neither is my brain because it's not working right, and my heart was ripped out of my chest with the bullet and is currently trying to replace Warner's.

Because I see where the bullet wound is. Just to the left of his spine- dear God, if it hit his spine-

Aaron fell unconscious before we got him to the stretcher, but I can still see him getting paler and paler with each step our little group takes. I see strange faces parting for us and I hear footsteps behind us, following, but I don't care, I don't care, and where's Sonya and Sara-

"Juliette!"

I don't stop at the tone Kenji uses. I stop because he grabs my hand and physically pulls me around to face him.

I feel like I've been shot by Anderson all over again as I let Warner's hand slip from mine.

I meet Kenji's eyes and he pulls me in for a hug, so quick I don't have time to return it. "He'll be fine."

Then he's pulling me along to catch up with Warner and I grab his hand again desperately.

"He'll be fine." Kenji repeats, gripping my other hand. "You know him. The only thing he'd let kill him is you. Probably enjoy it too, sick bastard."

I don't laugh. I can barely even appreciate him trying to cheer me up.

The only thought running through my head is _Aaron_ and _please_ and _this can't be_ happening.

Sonya and Sara appear from nowhere and four hands touch Warner, not counting my own.

"Please," I whisper. "Please, tell me you can save him, please-"

"He'll be fine," they chorus, but their voices are too cheerful, too forced, and my heart gives another painful thump.

I am starting to hate the word fine.

And I wish I could see a difference in him, I wish I could see him regain his color as quickly as he lost it. But I can't and his head is turned to the side and I can't see his face clearly, not at this angle, not with his hair in the way like that.

I don't know how long it takes us to get to Base. We must have gotten into a tank, a truck or a Jeep of some kind because I know how far away we were from our real HQ and it was too far to already be here.

But then there's people telling me I have to let Warner go and that he's going into surgery and I'm still numb, still not sure if I should be saying something or stopping them.

Sara and Sonya still don't let go and they look weak and pale now too as they walk away into the operating room.

Kenji is still holding my hand.

oooOOOooo

Warner lives through surgery and they got the bullet out. It was less than an inch from his heart and tore through a vein I've already forgotten the name of. They put some kind of mesh around the vein to repair it.

And then the doctors realized he had internal bleeding and he had to go back into surgery.

It didn't touch his spine. He is extremely lucky.

I haven't seen him since we arrived. I've been sitting on an uncomfortable chair in the room adjacent to our hospital's receiving area.

Kenji keeps trying to talk to me.

Adam had walked in with James clinging to his hand and sat down in the chair beside me.

James also keeps trying to talk to me.

I sit and stare at a wall.

James is confused and doesn't know why Adam is reacting the way he is. Kenji occasionally tries to distract him and I wonder if the brothers will ever tell the youngest that they're related.

Though I suppose if Aaron dies today there's no point.

"So." Kenji clears his throat, looks at both Adam and I as we sit silently. The two of us have practically been comatose, or at least I have, and I have to remember to thank Kenji later for being able to talk nonstop. "Warner's real name is Aaron?"

This catches my attention. "What?"

"You were screaming Aaron, when he got shot." Kenji remarks. "I'm guessing that's his first name? He never told us."

"I- yeah." I frown, because I must have said Aaron's name in front of them all at some point. It seems impossible that I haven't. "That's- Aaron is his first name."

"I never knew that." James pipes up from where he sits beside Adam. "I though his name was just Warner."

"That's his last name." I tell the 10 year old.

"I thought Anderson was his last name." James says. "Because of his dad."

I do not want to have this conversation. I look at Adam but he's watching me curiously, and I remember a time when I was supposed to think _he_ was dead. A time when I thought I was in love and Omega Point had been bombed and I didn't know if Adam was alive.

I never reacted like this. Not even close.

I wonder if Kenji realizes that. He was the one to tell me Adam was alive and that I wasn't acting like a grieving girlfriend should.

I sigh, explaining to James quickly. "Anderson was his dad but Warner didn't like him, because Anderson was mean. Warner was his mother's last name so he just chose her's instead."

James looked at Adam. "Like we did?"

Adam looks at his little brother and nods. "Yes, James." He says, voice heavy with the weight of all he's not saying. "Almost exactly like we did."

oooOOOooo

Warner survived the second surgery and is now asleep. The doctors say with all the drugs he has in his system it's likely he won't wake up until tomorrow.

They say if he makes it through tonight then he should make it.

Sonya and Sara haven't left his side since he got out of surgery, both of them holding one of his hands.

I am terrified to see him.

Adam's already gone in. He walked in and walked right back out 10 minutes later, shaking his head at Kenji when he tried to speak to him. Without saying anything to us he'd grabbed James hand and, saying they'd visit him tomorrow, walked out of the hospital.

I realize now that it's my turn, that I should go and sit at his bedside, holding his hand until he wakes up, but I'm scared to do so.

Because what if while I'm holding his hand I feel the last beat of his pulse and then he's gone? What if something happens and I'll go in only to have to leave because he needs to have another surgery?

"What if he makes it through the night with no trouble and you spend all this time sitting out here worrying and not sucking it up and being with him?" Kenji says in response and I realize I've been speaking out loud. "He's the one who got shot, J, and I think he'd probably really appreciate it if it was your face he wakes up to."

I close my eyes. "I'm scared, Kenji."

Kenji tightens his hold on my hand. "I know. I am too." I meet his eyes. "But this is a war, J. People get hurt, and some people die. You're luckier than most." He says. "The doctors sound optimistic."

"I know." I whisper and I look down the hallway where patient rooms are. "And I know he's strong. I know that."

"Come on, J." Kenji's eyes are steady and he pulls me into a hug again. "You're like the toughest person I know. You can do this."

So I do.

oooOOOooo

Warner is only surviving because of the bandages around his torso, the needles hooked into his skin and the drugs in his system.

But at least he's surviving.

I go in the room and whatever the sisters see on my face make them glance at one another and stand up.

Sonya staggers. Sara reaches across the bed to steady her.

"He'll make it," Sara murmurs as she moves to wrap an arm around her sister.

"I think we'll go and have a rest now," Sonya says, voice weak.

"Thank you," I say, and I hope they know how much I mean it.

They nod and stumble out of the room.

I move to take Sonya's abandoned chair and grab hold of the abandoned hand.

"Aaron," I'm speaking before I even know what to say. "Please don't die."

It's a stupid request, one he has no control over, but I say it anyway. I let my power surge through us, let him take whatever strength he can from me, if any, and I hope I hope I hope it helps.

I feel so useless.

"Please." I'm begging for his life, speaking to whoever makes those kind of decisions. Who holds our lives in their hands and what do I have to do to make sure they don't erase Warner's. "Please don't take him from me. Don't take him from us. He still has to tell James they're brothers, and we have to win this war and- and-"

I cut myself off by taking a deep breath of air. "And I want to marry you. We still need to get married." I say. "Soon. Now. Tomorrow. I don't care when, I don't care who does it or how we look and who's there. I'm going to marry you, Aaron, and I realized today I don't want you to die before that happens. Aaron, please." I'm searching his face for a sign he's listening, or a sign he'll wake up. "Please. Marry me."

His hand twitches in mine.

"Aaron?" I'm leaning over him, watching his face, trying to see if he's moving anything else.

He's not. His eyes don't open. His hand is still.

I convince myself I imagined it right before I fall asleep laying hunched over on Warner's bed.

oooOOOooo

"Should we wake her?"

"I don't see why." Something moves in my hand and my fingers twitch as my brain slowly begins to function. "She needs sleep."

"She also needs to know you're alive. You know. Since you got shot and all."

"She's practically laying on my lap, Kishimoto, you think she won't realize I'm alive the minute she wakes up?"

"I think-"

That's when I remember.

Warner. Bullets. Blood and IV's and-

"You made it!"

I sit up at once, making both Kenji and Warner flinch away from the movement.

Warner's face pales at his sudden jolt and he grits his teeth from where he lays down on the thin mattress. "Yes. Hello, love."

Kenji's rolling his eyes. "Jesus, Juliette. Are you trying to kill us both by giving us heart attacks? I thought you _didn't_ want him to die."

"Shut up, Kenji." I say, but my voice is happy and there's a smile on my face. I lift a hand, wanting to touch Warner, but I drop it quickly. He raises an eyebrow at the movement but doesn't say anything.

"I was worried." I say dumbly. "I'm glad you're alright."

His expression is strange, taking in my own as if he's only now seeing me for the first time.

"Yes," he says again. "Kenji told me all about you being worried."

I shoot Kenji a look but he doesn't look a bit ashamed. "Hey, you were screaming a lot, J." He says. "And then you were crying and then you were a bit of a zombie. But it's okay because Prince Charming lived and look, you're all better now-"

"Thank you, Kenji." I say and I reach to grab his hand, squeezing it briefly. "For staying with me."

He freezes for a second, but then rolls his eyes again. Soon they'll roll right out of his head.

"What are friends for, J?"

"Yes," Warner says, now for the third time. He looks away from me to quickly meet Kenji's eyes. "Thank you."

"Oh I see. Okay," Kenji holds up his hands. "I can tell when I'm not wanted, I know a dismissal when I hear one."

I open my mouth to deny it, because really, that wasn't what I'd meant to do, but Aaron squeezes my hand and I understand. It's what _he'd_ wanted.

I close my mouth and try to look sheepish. "I mean it though. Thank you."

"Sure, sure. Just keep it PG, okay kids? James and Adam are coming to visit and I don't want you scarring the kid."

I blush. "He just got shot, Kenji, what could we-"

"You two would find a way." Are his parting words to us, along with a mock salute. Then he's opening up the room door and walking out, closing it behind him.

I watch it close, suddenly nervous to meet Aaron's eyes.

Yesterday I'd fallen apart. I'd become a total disaster. It wasn't silly, because he'd been hurt, but it was... I wish I could have held it together. Been strong for everybody instead of them having to be strong for me.

I meet Warner's eyes and I'm about to say something, anything, when he beats me to it.

"Are you alright?"

I start crying again.

Not sobbing, but tears fill my eyes and overflow and Warner looks panicked and frozen. I'm sitting holding his hand and crying and I decide when I die it will probably be because of him.

"Juliette- stop, sweetheart, please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

I laugh a little, but it sounds strangled between us.

He tries to lift his hands to wipe my face but I grab both his hands now and hold them down in his lap.

"You," I say through my tears. "Are not supposed to ask me that."

He stops.

"You were shot." I get out. "And I was so scared, I was more scared than I've ever been. I thought you- I saw all of the blood and I was so scared."

I take a deep breath.

"I've realized," I look down out our hands. "That I think it would destroy me if you died."

Warner is still watching me but now his face shutters off, unreadable, even to me. "Ah."

"And I never want you to get shot again," I say quietly, almost embarrassed, because even though I've been locked away and missed a few of my teenage years, I know these words are coming very soon in our relationship. "I want you to live until you're gray with me, Aaron, and I need you to make it past your 25th birthday for that."

He is staring up at the ceiling.

"I don't think gray's my color."

I laugh. And then I take a breath.

"And I want to marry you."

He is still watching the tiles of the roof, but his hands clench in mine.

Seconds tick by.

"No."

I squeeze his hands at the answer. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting. "Okay."

He eyes flicker over to meet mine and then he looks away once more. "It's not because I don't want to." He says and our conversation is shaping up almost exactly like the one we'd had years ago. "But, Juliette, I just got shot."

Green eyes can be so devastatingly sad when they want to be.

"The only reason you're asking me," he continues. "Is because you thought I would die."

"What? No!" I shake my head. "No, it's not-"

His pulse on the machine by his bed is erratic, most likely too high for him having been shot only yesterday.

"You were scared." He says simply. "And I understand, love, I do, but-" He swallows, and his words are ripped out of him. "If we get married, it will be when we're not fighting for our lives. We'll be free and have no restrictions. You can have a white dress and we can go to a church or- or somewhere other than a hospital room." He laughs brokenly.

"No, it- it doesn't have to be right now, while we're here." I say, working to make him understand. He didn't- he thought it was because he'd almost died, and partly it was but really it was just because- "I want to-"

"Juliette." He makes the vowels and consonants of my name sound beautiful falling from his mouth. "I'm not saying no to marrying you. I'm saying not right now, not when you're panicked because I got shot. I want you to marry me simply because you want to. Not in the middle of a war in case one of us dies the next day, not because right now you can't picture something different in a year or 5." He swallows. "I do not make rash decisions, love."

I try to come up with a response.

"You think I'm a rash decision?" I whisper finally. "That us, together..." I shake my head and grip his hands harder. "Aaron, we're not. Don't you think I thought about what choice I was making when I realized I loved you? When I told you that? I think you're the best decision I've ever made in my life."

His face is dipped in sadness. "Right now you do. But I keep waiting on the day you're going to run away screaming."

"I already told you-"

"Warner!"

James' voice makes me jump and Warner looks up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly before turning his head to look at James who's run into his room and standing on the opposite side of the bed I'm sitting

"You got shot and Adam said it was bad, so I was worried, but then Adam told me this morning that you were okay and Sonya and Sara and the doctors would make it all better." The words fall out of his mouth in a rush and he's looking at Warner wide-eyed. "Is it true?"

Warner manages to nod slightly after tearing his eyes from me, and James lets out a breath. "Woah." He says in an awed whisper. "You're invincible like Juliette."

Warner lets out a breath of laughter. "Not quite like Juliette." He says.

"Are you in pain?" Adam asks, standing beside James. Warner meets his eyes and doesn't reply, but Adam's face hardens. "I could ask the nurses for some more-"

"No, thank you. The pain is... bearable."

I can tell from the way his teeth clench when he breathes that it isn't.

I stand up, wanting to give the brothers time alone and also wanting to get out and away from Warner. I'm not angry at him, just angry that he doesn't understand I was serious. That I _had_ thought this out.

"I need to speak to Castle and the rest," I murmur, squeezing his hands and giving him a small smile, to let him know we'll talk later. "Don't die while I'm gone."

"Juliette-" He starts, but I take a few steps backward.

"I'll be back soon." I promise. "Just have some things to think about." I look at James before Aaron can say something. "Take care of him for me?" I ask.

James nods eagerly. "Totally!" He says. "Hey, maybe I can help heal you too! Like how I get better fast."

Warner's too distracted by his little brother to try and stop me as I walk out the door. I pass a nurse on my way out and stop her quickly.

"The patient in that room needs more morphine." I tell her, gesturing to Warner's door and then I walk out of the hospital.

I wasn't done with our conversation though. Not even close.


	3. Chapter 3

I bring it up again but Warner's answer doesn't change and I can't convince him otherwise. A small part of me is hurt that I even have to try convincing him at all, but it's easily silenced. We're still young and he has his reasons. I know he loves me and that's enough.

Warner got shot and I'm glad he's alive. If he doesn't want to get married he doesn't have to. I won't force him. I am being slightly ridiculous, I realize, but a part of me is just waiting for everything we've fought so hard for to be taken from us. For another group of Anderson's to come and take our chance at a life together away.

But I stay quiet. Warner can make up his own mind.

Delalieu visited him every day he was in the hospital, which was only 4 days what with Sonya and Sara almost permanently at his bedside. Delalieu's excuses were of keeping Warner updated on what was happening with the war, and I never contradicted him.

He did have a habit of hovering like a mother hen though.

Neither Warner or I mentioned it.

The 3 Gifts we'd taken in from that battle were a family, and while the son and father seemed eager to join once they knew what they were offering, the daughter put up more of a fight.

Her name is Siobhan Giles. She is 16 years old. Her brother is named Anthony and is a few years older than her. Their father, Philip, is almost 50.

"They'll screw us over, just like the others did." Siobhan hisses to her family once we place them together. I'm standing a few feet away and pretending to not be able to hear their conversation. "We can't trust them, she just wants us to fight her stupid war-"

"She's like us." Their father says. He hasn't taken his eyes off of me, but he's been extremely calm throughout this entire ordeal. Never fighting the soldiers, just watching and listening. Observing. "They won't harm us like the others."

Siobhan threw her hands up in disgust. "You don't know that Pop. We could be trading one prison for another."

"I'm staying." Anthony interrupts them. "Go if you like. I want to help them."

Siobhan's eyes narrowed. "Don't be stupid." She says. "We don't know them. And we're not splitting up. After everything?" Her expression softens slightly and she grabs both men by the hand. "Not a chance."

"I agree." Philip said. "And I also agree with Anthony."

Anthony smiled cheekily at his sister. "2 against 1, Vonny."

She starts swearing in a language I don't understand but the father lets go of her hand to come over to me. "If your offer still stands, we would like to help you."

I nod, watching the siblings argue. "Are you sure everybody agrees with that plan?"

He looks back at his children as well. "Siobhan's always been stubborn." He says. "But when she sees what it's like here she'll settle down. If she'll be a problem, my son and I can keep her in line." He seems nervous now, eyes flickering between the three of us.

I shake my head. "Not at all, she's free to look around if she promises not to harm anybody." I meet his eyes. "Thank you."

He nods and that's that. I tell Warner it's safe to come in the room we're standing and then I hand the family off to Lily and Ian to show them around.

They turn out incredibly useful. During training we find out that Siobhan can stop the bullets and Anthony can disable communication frequencies.

And Philip?

Philip remembers _everything_.

Everything he's ever read, heard or seen. No lesson has gone unforgotten, nothing faded from his memory in the 48 years he's been alive.

He said he used to have a room in his home completely full of books that he'd give away and replace with new ones after he read them.

He says he's read well over 1 000 books in his life, a statement which staggers me. I don't think I've even seen 1 000 different books, never mind read that many.

He also proves incredibly useful. He can recite battle plans and enemy names with no hesitation. He describes their faces to Alia in such perfect detail she sketches them in a few minutes.

The rest of us are in awe.

After that day the war picks up for us.

Gifts from across North America make themselves known and help the nearest soldiers. Some escape from South America once they hear they can join us.

Eventually we defeat Jacob Fields and free the continent.

That's when the every other part of the world realizes how real of a threat we are.

I am involved in endless back and forth talks with the now united Supreme Commander's.

We decline their offer of amnesty if we surrender.

They unite to try and fight us. We tell them to bring the fight over here.

They do.

But against over 100 Gifts and two continent's armies - two huge continent's armies- they are outnumbered and outgunned. Especially when they're soldiers seem to have a habit of turning against them after seeing our side.

We win the war less than 2 years after it begins and I find out maybe the war was a piece of cake compared to picking up the pieces.

oooOOOooo

I'm speaking to Warner when Delalieu comes into the room looking as if he's expecting to be executed.

My Advisory Council are trickling out of the Boardroom in Sector 45's Base. Warner and I had been about to go to our bedroom and change into something more appropriate for touring the Sector and helping with house repairs but Delalieu wringing his hands makes us stop.

Kenji and Castle are also hovering by the door, waiting to see what news the older man has brought us.

"Miss." Delalieu shoots Warner a look, one I can't read, and Warner's face hardens at the sight of it. Delalileu's voice is trembling a little, but it's hard in a way I hadn't expected. Angry.

I try to remember if I've done anything to offend him lately but can't think of a thing.

I meet his eyes. "Yes?"

Delalieu takes a deep breath. "Miss, your parents are here."

Every oxygen particle leaves my body.

Instantly I'm brought back to memories from years ago. A mother screaming at me, fighting my father's restricting arms around her. She wants to kill me, she hates me, and I am a cowering 8 year old in the corner of our living room, broken shards of an old vase at my feet.

I had just wanted to touch it. To touch something without causing anybody pain.

I remember the tears that had been streaming down my mother's cheeks.

What a silly idea, I remember thinking while she screamed, that I could touch something without hurting somebody. I sowed pain wherever I went.

My father was the kinder of the two, in a way. Because while my mother would glare and scream and flinch when I entered a room, my father would pretend I wasn't there at all. He would look right through me, and when I asked him questions he would look at my mother who would sigh and answer them as if me even speaking was too much for them to bear.

I remember a broomstick broken on my back, a yardstick to measure the closest I could come to my parents. (About 5 feet, 2 feet further than the yardstick.) I remember small hands shoved into smoldering coals as my 6th birthday present, and my screams instead of the song Happy Birthday.

"To try and burn the poison out of you," my mother had said.

Needless to say it hadn't helped.

"Juliette." A voice brings me back to the present and I catch Delalieu watching me worriedly before I focus on Warner's eyes. He's touching my hand gently and his eyes are soft and full of concern. "Did you hear what he said?"

"My parents." I choke out. "I don't..."

Warner cups my face in his hands and I force down the panic rising in my throat. I feel my stomach twist and wonder if I'll be sick.

I haven't seen my parents in 5 years.

"Juliette, Delalieu said that they're downstairs and won't leave until they speak to you." He is watching me so closely, as if he knows how I could break apart with just the right words. "Do you want me to get rid of them?"

Underneath the worry and concern I hear the burning curiosity mixed with anger in his tone.

Of course, I remember too late. He's read my old journal. I've told him countless stories about them. Of course he's curious to see these people.

And he's angry, but not at me. He's angry at them for what they did to me.

I realize I'm angry too.

"No," I answer his question with a whisper and make my voice stronger when I repeat, "no, I'll speak to them."

I gently take Warner's hands in my own and pull them from my face, turning to speak to Delalieu. "Will you take me to them?"

The anger in his eyes sparks and I wonder again at what I could have done to anger him so much. He's usually so reserved, but I've always thought Delalieu might have liked me. Especially after all that's happened in the past two years.

But then he nods at my question and I momentarily forget about Delalieu's anger.

Kenji breaks the silence as I get up, Warner following my movement. "J, are you sure-"

I squeeze his hand briefly as I pass him. "I think I need to do this." I tell him, and then I walk out, following Delalieu with Aaron's hand firmly held in my own.

I hear Kenji fall into step behind us a moment later, Castle staying to watch us go.

oooOOOooo

I am not ready for the sight of my parents.

They look almost exactly the same. More wrinkles, perhaps. A bit more gray in their hair. Skinnier and paler, but the same as always. I would recognize them anywhere.

I don't know what I had been expecting but this wasn't it.

My mother still has her long brown hair, similar to my own. She still has her brown eyes and pale skin that tans easily.

And my father. His eyes, so piercingly blue and sharp. He had so much knowledge he had never shared with me behind those eyes. He has a bald spot now that he hadn't before, but his salt and pepper hair is still present. He's taller than my mother by about half a foot.

They are not the only ones in the room.

Standing behind my mother is a girl, no older than 5. She is the miniature of my mother.

And suddenly I understand why my parents were so willing to pack me up and send me away with the police. It wasn't just the boy from the supermarket, but this girl here. This unborn and fragile new member of the family they'd wanted to protect from me.

The silence in the room is heavy with my realizations.

I'm not looking at my parents, but at their youngest daughter hiding behind my mother's legs and holding her hand. Our eyes meet and she watches me curiously.

I try to smile at her but it hurts so I drop it. Instead I just watch her back.

Nobody speaks for what feels like ages but can only be seconds.

And then I hear it.

My father's voice.

"Juliette."

My eyes cut to him fast and he meets them, looking at me curiously. He doesn't look like he hates me, or like I ruined his life. He looks at me like I'm someone from his past a long time ago that he barely remembers. Someone he no longer recognizes but would like to get to know.

I glance at my mother and she is staring at Warner's hand in mine with horror on her face.

I realize everybody's watching me, waiting to see what I'll do.

I look at the young girl again. "Hello." I say to her gently. She seems to be the easiest one to face.

She cocks her head a bit. "Hi."

And because I need to make sure, I ask. "Are these your parents?"

She nods her head.

I slowly take my hand from Warner's to crouch down. Even though we're feet away, I want to be on eye level. "It's nice to meet you." I say, and there's a lump in my throat.

The word sister is foreign to me.

My- our parents are watching me like a hawk. My mother has an arm out keeping the girl back from me, and Father is looking between the two of us.

"Don't touch her, Lexi." My mother's voice is shaking and terrified. "She'll hurt you."

I stand back up and take Warner's hand once more. "I can control that now." I say, hoping she can't see the hurt I feel at her words. Even now she has the power to hurt my feelings. After all these years. "I can touch people, just like anyone else."

"She can." Kenji buts in. "Along with being superstrong and bulletproof," he shoots me a look, still jealous over that certain fact. Another time I would roll my eyes at how silly he's being, but now I just look back at him. "She can turn her Gift on and off."

My mother is looking between Aaron, Kenji and I like she can't believe her eyes. "Her gift?" She asks, sounding slightly strangled. "What she is-"

"Can you really?" My father interrupts whatever she's about to say. "Turn it on and off at will?"

I look away from my mom's angry twisted mouth and nod at him. Bracing myself at the curiosity in his voice, the eager look in his eyes.

He cocks his head. "Could you do it before?"

"No." I swallow the bitter taste in my mouth. "Otherwise I never would have hurt that boy in the supermarket."

His mouth closes, chastened, and I wait to see whether he'll reply.

Lexi breaks the silence. "Are you a superhero?" She asks excitedly.

I look down at her. "Um, no."

"But you have powers." She says. "Like me. And mommy and daddy say I'm a superhero."

I am at a loss for words and turn to Warner for help.

He hasn't said a word this entire time. He's barely looked away from the two adults across from us.

"She's totally a superhero." Kenji says, moving a little closer to Lexi. My mother tenses and he stops. "Most of us are." He continues. "You could join our superhero club."

"Who are you?" My mother interrupts him. "Why are you here?"

He adopts a look of hurt. "Moi? Have you not seen me in all of the propaganda posters we shot? You wouldn't be able to forget this face, lady."

I grin a little. "They must have held back that particular poster." I tell him.

"Thanks a lot, J." He fires back before turning to look at my parents and bowing. "Kenji Kishomoto, at your service. Except not really because you guys suck." He winks at Lexi. "Except you, darling."

She giggles a little.

My parents look like they've just been slapped.

"The real question," Warner steps forward slightly, shielding me a bit with his body. "Is why are you here? Juliette has made no attempt to reach out to you, and as far as I know you wanted to sever all contact with her."

I feel a hand brush my shoulder and turn to look at Delalieu. His eyes are still full of anger, but he's watching my parents closely. His hand squeezes my shoulder briefly before dropping.

I am so confused by that man.

"I- we- the doctors wouldn't let us see you-." My mother says, and I shake my head at the words.

"Visiting days were every Saturday." I said, remembering my cell, the doctors that came before it and my room in the mental hospital. "I counted how many times either of you showed up. It wasn't hard, since it never got past 0."

Lexi looks up at my parents, still holding my mom's hand. "I thought she got taken away from you?"

"She was-" My father starts, but I interrupt him.

"I wouldn't lie to her, if I were you." I say. "Kids almost always find out their parents lies in the end."

His jaw snaps shut.

We are surrounded by silence once more until Warner looks at Lexi.

"You said you were a superhero." He says and she smiles shyly at him and nods. "What superpowers do you have?"

Before any of us can react she darts forward to grab his hand.

"Lexi!" Our mother cries, but she's already touching Warner's hand, and I let go of the one I'm holding to move around and watch them closely.

Warner gasps at the contact and then stands frozen. His eyes lose focus and it's almost like he's not seeing the room at all.

"What's she doing?" Kenji whispers and I shake my head, just as lost as he his.

Lexi looks up at Warner and smiles. "Do you see?" She asks him eagerly.

He nods. "I see," he says, and his voice is hoarse.

"Aaron," I say, but then Lexi pulls away and he refocuses. His eyes find mine and I'm lost for words at the look in them. "What? What did she do?" I ask.

He opens his mouth but can't seem to speak, and I've never seen him so shaken as when he looks down at my little sister.

"I showed him what he wanted most in the world." She says happily, unaware of the effect whatever she'd done has on the man whose hand she was just holding.

"You showed him?" I ask her. "How? You didn't do anything but hold his hand."

"She doesn't need to." My mother answers.

"It takes physical contact," my father says. "But it's like she can put the images directly into your mind."

"Woah." Kenji says, and I have to agree.

"It's amazing." Dad says.

"A miracle." My mother sighs, looking at Lexi with all the love she never gave me.

Warner's voice distracts me from my self-pity. "It's madness."

We all look at him and his voice is still shaky but grows stronger as he keeps talking. He's looking at Lexi like he's almost afraid of her and she's entirely unaware, looking at us all proudly. "It's not real. What she shows you, how you feel... you think it's real, but afterwards you see the illusion. It's like a simulation, only with no awareness." He's still watching Lexi as if he's afraid she'll touch him again. "That could drive people insane."

I want to ask him what he saw but decide to wait until later to do it. There are still 2 other people in this room I have to deal with.

"You never answered Warner's question." I turn to my parents with my arms crossed. I no longer feel nervous, only aggravated that they're taking up our time. Lexi is the only thing about them that makes me curious now and I have no idea how I will handle that situation. "Why are you here?"

My mother's smile looks like it pains her. "We missed you."

"Bullshit." I say, and the room goes quiet. "Try again."

My father looks at everyone nervously. "Perhaps Lexi should go somewhere else."

"You're the ones who brought her here." I point out, but Kenji moves forward to take Lexi's hand.

"Come on, Lex. Can I call you Lex?" She nods happily. "Call me Kenji. Delalieu and I will take you to meet some other cool people, they're superheroes too. Maybe you can show me your superpower and I'll show you how to become invisible."

"Wait-" My father silences my mother's protests and she falters, watching Lexi walk away happily with Kenji, worry on her face.

"She'll be fine." I say to them quietly, and my dad seems perfectly content to trust me.

"Sir?" Delalieu looks at Warner and I until I nod, letting him know it's alright to follow them.

Then it's just the four of us. The room seems very small, even though the reception room is quite large. There's two couches here that we've all been ignoring and windows to see outside. The carpet is a plush white, and the walls are a royal purple.

Father clears his throat. "Perhaps it would be better if it were just Juliette and ourselves."

I'm shaking my head before he finishes. "Aaron stays."

Warner glances at me and I take his hand again, giving it a squeeze.

 _Please_ , it says.

 _I need you here,_ it says.

 _I can't do this alone._

Warner nods. "I stay."

My dad doesn't seem happy with that but he says nothing else.

My mom jumps on the silent exchange like a harpy on food. "You two are a couple?"

She sounds incredulous and I try to understand her, even now. What is it about me that makes her think I'm incapable of having a real relationship with another human being?

I answer her anyway. "Yes."

She ignores me and looks at Warner. "How?" She demands. "How can you just touch her like that and not- and ignore the fact that she's..." She trails off. "She's a monster. She killed a little boy for no reason. She hurt me and she's unnatural." Her eyes are looking back and forth between us. "How can you accept that?"

Warner's face is blank, but his eyes are hard. He tensed at my mother's words, unlike me who, after an initial flinch, let them roll off me.

I'm not unused to it. Not from her.

"I think," Warner replies quietly, "The real monsters are the ones who would give up on their child before really giving her a chance. Before trying to help her."

"I did try-"

"The thought that you could burn her power out of her is ridiculous and just a way of pretending you didn't want to hurt her." Aaron interrupts my mother's protest. "Which, again, is another thing I think a monster would do."

My mother looks at me. "Don't you have anything to say?" She demands. "You're boyfriend's just insulted us and-"

"Evelyn." My father's voice is gravel. "Stop."

"You heard what he said, Eric-"

"I did." My father agrees. "Stop."

He looks at me pleadingly. "Juliette. Our area in the Sector is starving. The war took all of our food and farmers are only now starting to grow new crops. We have enough rations for another month, at least, but after that we'll be nothing but beggars on the streets."

I'm confused. "We've had no reports of food shortages in areas for months."

He looks contrite. "No, it's just- it's us. I lost the business near the beginning of the war and we're running out of money. We can't afford food, we can barely afford electricity and plumbing. Our rent's gone up because houses are so hard to come by now. It took half of what we have to make it all the way here and-"

"You've come to ask for money." Warner interrupts him.

My mother jumps in. "We'll be dead before the year's up." She says, watching me carefully. And even though she hates me, even though she's disgusted by me, I listen to her and consider what they're saying.

My parents need my help.

"You two are the leaders of this entire continent. You have enough money and food for 100 families, never mind one. If anything, you should be offering it to us freely, given that we raised you, Juliette, despite the hardship that caused our family-"

"You can't be serious." Warner says, sounding incredulous. "You sent Juliette to a mental institution, allowed them to lock her up in solitary for almost an entire year, misuse and abuse her, and you expect her to give you money? Because you think she owes you something?"

"Juliette, please." It's my father now, imploring me to listen. Both of my parents are ignoring Warner, acting like he's not even in the room. "We know what we did to you was wrong, baby, we know. We were awful and never should have just given up on you. We should have given you a chance, helped you. Instead we ignored you and hurt you, and Juliette, we're so sorry." He takes my mother's hand. "But we have Lexi now, Juliette, and- and we need to do whatever we can to take care of our daughter. Both of our daughter's, if you'd let us." He looks ashamed. "But I know you'll want nothing to do with us," I frown at his words, at his presumption which isn't exactly true, but he hurries on. "But we'll do anything we can to be a real family now. If you've learned to control your- your condition, well there's no reason things can't be how they should have always been. Us, together, with you and your sister, Juliette." His words are a steady stream, washing over me and I'm almost swept away by their current. "Juliette, you're our daughter. Our first child. We love you and we never meant to hurt you. All we ever wanted was for you to have what you have now. Friends and food and even a boyfriend. We thought we were helping you."

"I-" I don't know what to say. I don't know if they're lying or telling the truth.

I glance at Warner. He can read people better than anybody else. He would know.

His face hardens when I look at him and he shakes his head slightly.

Ah.

I turn to my mother. "What do you see, when Lexi touches you?"

She's either startled that I'm talking to her or surprised at my question, because she takes a few seconds to answer. "I- I see you." She says slowly. "But you're normal, you're not... the way you are. The 4 of us are together and we're happy. Our family hasn't been torn apart by your... mutation."

I ignore the accusation in her tone and turn to my father.

"And you?" I ask.

"Me?" He's thrown by my question, eyes darting between Warner and I. He's been doing it this entire time and it's then I realize he's incredibly nervous. "I see the three of us." He tells me. "We're happy, we're a family. And- and we're surrounded by friends and loved ones."

3.

I am not included in this picture.

I understand in that moment.

My father hasn't had a change of heart. He hasn't realized how cruel he and my mother were and wants to ask for forgiveness from me. He doesn't want us to all be one big happy family.

He has always been a businessman. Back when families around us were starting to ration food we were still surviving just fine because my father knew how to play people and was smart enough to keep his business alive and thriving. He was one of the first to back The Reestablishment and prepare for their victory, because he always had an uncanny ability to tell who would come out on top of an agreement or deal or election.

I am just another person he has come here to manipulate. This entire time, from the moment I stepped in the room with them, he has been acting a part. Every move of his has been calculated.

I almost fell for it too.

By now I should know better. My parents hated me when I was a child. There is no way they don't still hate me now.

But our positions are reversed. I'm the one with the food and the power now, and they're the ones who want something from me. Except it's not love and acceptance like I'd wanted from them.

They've come here, using every way they can think of, to win me over. My mother, probably knowing I would never forget her brutality from when I was a child, hoped her being honest would make me trust them.

My father is the real liar.

I wonder what I would see, if Lexi touched my hand. Would I see the 4 of us happy and together like my mother does? Or would my parents even be there at all?

I stand up, Warner follows my lead. "I think you'd better go. We're very busy."

"Wha- but you haven't answered our question." My father says, standing up with us.

I hesitate, but when I speak my voice is firm. "Your answer is no."

Immediately my mother turns to my father. "I told you Eric, she's a disgrace-"

"Juliette, please." My father speaks over my mother once more. "We need food, you don't understand, we're starving-"

"I understand, Father." I bite my lip and think of my cell, where they fed you if you were lucky. Of one meal a day. "If Lexi ever needs anything she can come here. I'll give it to her myself. But I'm not giving anything to you that's not given to everybody else. As far as I'm concerned you're just random citizens that came here to beg for money."

They both stop talking.

"Lexi will meet you outside, if you don't mind I think I'll speak to her." I look at them once more. "Goodbye, Mom. Dad. This will probably be the last time I ever see you."

I wait, just in case they want to say something. Anything at all. That they're genuinely sorry, or that they really do love me, in their own way. That they need food for Lexi at least, or they wish me well.

I even half expect them to spit at me, or curse my name. To throw some last insults out there for me to remember them by.

Instead they don't say anything, just look at me like I've disappointed them all over again.

I wasn't aware I was still capable of disappointing my parents.

Somehow it still hurts.

I nod at them. "Goodbye then."

And then I walk away.

oooOOOooo

I manage to hold in my tears for four steps and then they're pouring out my eyes.

"Juliette." Warner says my name as soon as we leave the room and I look up at him as he catches my hand to stop me. He sees the water flowing down my cheeks and his face goes through a range of emotions. Anger, worry, sympathy, love.

He pulls me into his arms and I inhale, trying to compose myself even while my throat feels like it's closing up.

"Come here," he tugs me into a nearby room, one of the soldiers' old barracks by the look of it, and pulls me to sit on one of the 5 beds in the room. His arms are wrapped around me and he's rocking me gently back and forth while I breathe.

"I thought-" I can't even speak without tears choking my voice. "A part of me thought they were here to- because they-"

"I know, love." He says above my head. "I'm so, so sorry." His lips touch my hair gently.

More tears leave me. "Why can't I be good enough?"

He's quiet for a few seconds before pulling away, holding me at arms length and meeting my eyes. "You're not serious?"

I look at him in confusion and he pulls me back to his chest, his grip practically crushing. "You are worth a thousand of them." His voice is wrecked with emotion. "The way they treat you, what your mother said..." He trails off. "It took everything I had not to send them away. And the look on your face, God, Juliette, you deserve so much more than them. You deserve the sun and the stars and the moon and everything they're not able to give you. But that's because they are the problem, sweetheart, not you."

I don't want to let go of him, my hands are clutching his shirt desperately. "They must have known we were here all along." I say to his t-shirt. "And they never told me I had a sister."

He clears his throat. "They wanted her here to manipulate you. They thought you'd give them something for her at least." He pauses. "It's the only reason they brought her."

Of course. Even now they have to protect her from me.

I sit back, wiping my face. "I need to see her."

His eyes are worried. "You don't just want Delalieu to-"

"They might never let me see her again." I say, and it hurts, but it's a real possibility. "I need to let her know she can come back here anytime, if she wants to. That I want to know her if she wants to know me."

"Okay." He says.

"And after," I tell him, "We're spending the rest of the day in bed."

He raises an eyebrow. "We are?"

I nod. "Get what you need to have done done, Mr. Warner." I say with a shaky smile. "Because for the rest of the day you're mine."

He grins at me. "I think I can do that, Ms. Ferrars."

oooOOOooo

Before going to see Lexi I grab a piece of paper and a pen and scribble a quick note, telling her who I am and that if she wants to see me she can come anytime. I also write down our phone number, just in case she wants to see me and can't get here herself. Or if she just wants to talk. I give it to her as we walk downstairs to the door that leads out of Base and she's holding my hand and I feel like I could get used to having a sister.

"Remember, it's a secret from Mom and Dad." I tell her. "They're mad at me and might not let you come."

Her eyes are wide. "Even if I want to?"

I nod. "Even if you want to. So only throw the paper out if you're sure you don't want to come back ever, alright?"

She nods. "But- but I can't see you anymore?"

"If you want to, you can." I tell her. "Okay? I would love to see you."

"Okay." We stop at the door and she looks out of them. Our parents are standing huddled together, whispering. "It was nice to meet you."

I swallow what feels like a bed of nails and crouch in front of her. "It was nice to meet you too."

She hugs me, suddenly, and I tense.

"It doesn't hurt." She says in my ear. "They told me it would."

"It only hurts if I want it to now." I say. "Before it was different."

She pulls back. "But you won't hurt me."

"No." I agree. "I won't hurt you."

She clutches the paper in her hand as she walks outside, and I see her slip it into her pocket as our parents see her and move over.

I watch them walk away out the window, both of them holding one of her hands, and I'm not jealous, or angry anymore.

Instead I'm just happy. Because I have a sister, and because even if my parents don't love me like I want them to, there are plenty of people who do.

oooOOOooo

True to his word, Warner is waiting for me when I make it to our room after saying goodbye to Lexi.

"So?" He asks, and I hesitate.

"I think she'll come back." I say. "I don't know when, but I think she will."

"You don't want to visit her yourself?"

"No." I reply. "I don't want to- to force myself on her. And I don't want to see my parents again." The words hurt to say but they're not untrue. "Do you think I should have given them the money?"

He holds out his hand and I take it, letting him pull me to the bed. "I would have done the same thing as you."

I nod and sit quietly.

"Are you alright, love?"

I shrug. "It's just a thing." I say. "A thing I'll have to get over and work through."

He nods. "If you'd like to talk about-"

"No." I say. "Just..." I remember earlier, when I went and got Lexi, Kenji and Delalieu were looking at her similar to how Warner had earlier, when she'd taken his hand. Kenji said her power was scarier than anyone else's he'd seen so far. "What did Lexi show you? When she touched your hand?"

He tenses. "You really want to know?"

I nod. "She said it was... what you wanted most?"

He nods.

I'm curious and turn my head to look at him. "Will you tell me?"

He's silent for so long I think he won't, but eventually he speaks again. "I saw... it wasn't real. But it felt- I wouldn't have known it wasn't if she hadn't pulled her hand away."

I'm listening, waiting to hear more.

"It was you." He says simply. "And you were in a kitchen. It looked like- it was the kitchen of my old house, the one I grew up in." He swallows. "And you were just washing dishes or- or cleaning the counter, something so ordinary, but you had a ring, right here." He taps the ring finger of my left hand. "And there was two kids at the table, eating off of plates and making a mess. A boy and a girl." His eyes are unfocused, remembering. "And while you were busy my mom came in the room and she- she told them they were just as messy as their father had been when he was little and cleaned up after them."

I don't look away. "She meant you."

He nods. "And I was so happy. Even though you all couldn't see me, or- you didn't know I was there, it was..."

"A fantasy." I say quietly. Suddenly I understand how Lexi's power could be so dangerous. This could cripple people, bring them to their knees to see the thing they want most. To see the people they love, the ones they've lost.

He turns his head to meet my eyes. "Did you let her show you?"

I shake my head. "I forgot about it, to be honest. I was so focused on getting her the paper and getting her out."

He nods, and he's watching me curiously. "I wonder what you would see." He murmurs.

I just look at him. I think I have a pretty good idea.

So I shrug. "I don't know if I'll ever ask." I tell him. "I think I have everything I want, right here."

His smile falls a bit. "Right."

"You said after the war." I reminded him. "When we were finished fighting for our lives and nothing was pressuring us."

He rolls onto his side. "You don't want to wait?" He asks me. We're laying on our sides, facing one another. "You're only 19. I'm barely legally an adult," he laughs shortly.

"There's no laws against marrying the person you love." I tell him. "Even if I am only 19. I know what I want." I cup his cheek. "I know who I want."

"Are you sure?" He asks me, a glint in his eye. "I'm sure Adam would be willing-"

"Oh shush, you know he and Alia are perfectly happy together." I chastise him.

"There's no rush." Warner says seriously. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm not," I say, frustrated. "Why do you keep putting it off? It doesn't have to happen right away, you know."

His thumb strokes my teeth. "I don't want you to do something you'll regret." He says. "Because if we did and you ended up miserable..." His hand clenches. "I don't think I could bear it."

I cover the hand on my cheek with my own. "You won't have to." I promise him. "You are everything I want, Aaron, and I'm sure if I'd asked Lexi to show me, I would have seen you."

I kiss him before he can give me any more stupid excuses, and I feel the familiar trickle of longing flow through me.

He groans and turns so he's hovering over top, arms braced at my side so he doesn't crush me. "God, what you do to me," he whispers and starts to kiss down my neck before coming back up to catch my lips with his.

"Mmmm," I hum in agreement, angling my neck so he has more space to work with.

After that we don't do too much talking.

oooOOOooo

We're still in bed when it comes back to me.

"Oh." I prop myself up on an elbow. "Do you know why Delalieu's mad at me?"

Aaron looks at me in surprise. "What?"

I look at his chest, tracing patterns on it with my finger. "I wasn't sure if he might have said something to you, about this morning. I just want to know so I can make it up to him-"

"Love," he stops my hand and when I meet his eyes he's smiling softly at me, like he can't quite believe I'm there in front of him, or that I exist at all. "He wasn't mad at you." Warner shakes his head on the pillow slightly, messing up his hair a bit but he doesn't notice as he goes to rest his weight on his elbows. "He was angry at your parents, sweetheart. Not you."

I frown. "But he didn't even know them." I point out. "He doesn't know what they did to me. He has to reason to be upset with them."

Warner takes my hand and kisses the back of it and I feel his small smile against my knuckles before he get's serious. "He knows you hate them. He knows you refused to look for them after the battle against Anderson and after the war was over. He knows that they gave you away to the psychiatrists and police when you were 14 and haven't tried to contact you until today." Warner's face hardens. "And he saw how they acted today. He knows what parents can be like, he knew what my father was like. I think he put the rest of it together on his own."

And it's stupid, it's so stupid, but Warner's words bring tears to my eyes that I blink to hold back. "He was angry at them for me?" I ask.

It seems so absurd, that Delalieu, who can barely meet my eyes when he speaks to me, cares enough to empathize with me on something like this. To hate my parents based on things he's only heard and observed.

Now him touching my shoulder earlier makes sense.

It is his own way of showing he's with me, I realize. His way of being by my side and letting me know he understands.

Warner nods, eyes searching my face. "He didn't think they deserved to see you."

I press my face into Aaron's neck. "Tomorrow I'm going out to buy the best coffee beans in the world for Delalieu."

Warner laughs in surprise underneath me. One of his arms moves to drape across my back and hold me closer.

"Don't go spoiling him now." He murmurs into my hair. "He might get unrealistic expectations."

I bite his shoulder lightly in reprimand and his grip tightens momentarily. "Delalieu deserves more than coffee beans, don't you think?"

It's always confused me, Warner's relationship with his grandfather, and so far I've tried not to pry into it since it doesn't really concern me. But the way they act around one another is so odd, the formality there. Strange, yet I know they care about each other in their own way.

Warner hums. "I can't imagine his reaction if we were to give him a present, can you?"

I can't really. Even when I say so much as thank you he looks surprised and slightly uncomfortable.

"Still." I say. "Maybe you two could... go out for lunch sometime?"

"We have breakfast together once a week." Warner says. "Anything other than that would be too much, I think."

I leave the topic alone, knowing Aaron is growing uncomfortable with it. One night he'd confessed to me that he wished he was closer with Delalieu, since he was the only thing left of his mother apart from the ring he never took off.

He said if he thought it's what Delalieu wanted he would try to spend more time with him. But Delalieu's never given any indication that that's what he wants. He seems perfectly happy with being his grandson's servant.

Still, I remember how worried he had been when Warner was shot. I see the looks he gives him when Aaron isn't looking, the little things he does to help out and treat him kindly.

I tuck my head into his neck, letting my thoughts go. "I wonder what Lexi showed Kenji."

Warner laughs. "Probably himself surrounded by supermodels."

I laugh a little. "I think it might have been similar to what she showed you."

"What?" He asks. "You?"

"No." I answer. "But a family. And Castle, like you saw your mom. A wife or a husband for him, a couple of kids running around." I kiss his neck. "Someone he doesn't always feel like he has to be strong around."

Warner hums. "Possibly."

I sigh. "Do you think things will ever settle down? That we'll ever have that for real?"

He turns and kisses my head. "If you want it," he says. "I would give you anything, Juliette, but that- that I would give you in a heartbeat."

"Then give it to me," I reply. "Marry me."

He laughs. "So stubborn."

"You said you would."

"I meant-" He sighs in exasperation. "When you're sure."

"I still don't know why you think I'm not sure now."

"Because I know you." He answers. "You thought you were in love with Adam because he was the only person to be nice to you for so long. Now you think you're in love with me because we won a war together and you were scared I would die. I want to wait until you want to be with me because of _me_."

I sigh, because while I understand what he's saying, I also understand how I feel. "I am."

"Maybe." He answers, but his tone tells me he doesn't believe me at all. "But I still want to wait."

I kiss him quickly. "Okay. I can respect that." I meet his eyes. "But don't wait because you think I'm not sure. Wait because you need to."

He hesitates and then smiles a small smile. "Alright. I'm waiting because I need to."

When I place my head back on his shoulder, somehow I don't completely believe that.


End file.
